the 21st of october.
seriously!?? that means it’s almost NOVEMBER. when and how did this happen? that means there are only nine-ish more weeks until christmas… holy schnikes!
one month later.
we’re all moved into the new pad. moving sucks regardless, doesn’t matter if your new address is 2 provinces away, 2 miles away, 2 streets away or in our case 2 floors away from your old place. there are still boxes scattered throughout the suite, the contents just waiting for their turn at being introduced to our new home. in due time…
needless to say knitting has sort of taken a backseat to all the cleaning/packing/cleaning/moving/cleaning/unpacking of late. however i do have some updates for show and tell.
first up, and the oldest of my current wips, we have the central park hoodie. nothing to show or tell here. it’s been stagnant at 80% complete for weeks. now that it’s almost fall i plan to haul it out of temporary hibernation, finish up the hood, and sew it all together (ugh!).
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the next item in my wips basket are my cookie a’s summer sox, knit with mmmalabrigo sock – so yum! these little babies are sitting at about 70% done.
mal sock is an absolute dream to work with – well worth the hard earned bucks i shelled out for it. hope to stash more of this stuff in the near future (merry christmas, anyone? anyone? -> HINT HINT). sock numero deux should be finished by the time autumn actually rolls around. just in time to keep my tootsies toasty!
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moving on, we have two igk installments (‘igk’ meaning ‘i’nstant ‘g’ratification ‘k’nits), a dishcloth and a headband. the dishcloth was a cute little pattern i found on the ‘newly added patterns’ on ravelry – a triangles dishcloth by tera johnson. as it happens this cloth is currently mia; i was looking for it tonight as i gathered what little knitterly evidence i had accumulated over the last month. guess i’ll stumble upon it amongst all the unpacked boxes when i get to those, haha!
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the second IGK work was a cute headband, the pattern of which (again) i stumbled upon whilst browsing ravelry one night. i used some leftover sock yarn to knit up this little gem.
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last but not least i needed to fulfill a neckscarf/kerchief/thingamabobber craving. ever since knitting springtime bandit and the ever-so-popular ishbel, i’ve just wanted more and more of these types of scarves. so the noro kureyon sock that at one time was being knit into a lace ribbon scarf, is now in the works to becoming a waves of leaves shawl by ijeomo olou.
seems like forever ago that i cast this one on, but it’s only been since august 20th. although i suppose that is almost one month… i did however have to frog & restart this pattern as i had neglected to mark down where i’d last left off – whoops! – so then i picked up where i thought i had last knit, which amazingly was right, and proceeded to majorly eff up that row. at that point i decided it’d be easier just to rip it back and start over.
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and that concludes tonight’s blogging! now i’m off to finish up some laundry and then off to eat some popcorn. i mean see a movie 
it’s a doozie.
What’s new in your world these days? Are you longing for Spring as much as I am? Where I live we had about one week’s worth of nice warm temperatures and since then, it’s been below normal – chilly winds, rain, even snow. Come on sun! I’ve been thinking about making a pair of ‘Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers’ from the Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation book in hopes of hurrying spring the f**k up already. Pardon my french, but it’s almost May. Hurry up spring! Sheesh.
In non-weather related events, last week my Dad finished up the last of his intense chemo & radiation therapy appointments! He is literally pooped. And quite relieved (as well as my Mom!) to have this part of the process complete. Now we go back to waiting, while my Dad’s body recouperates, and while the team of doctors & surgeons plan out what the next steps are. We hope that it will be surgery, as the main point of these treatments was to shrink the tumour to a more ‘operable’ size. Dad says despite the constant pain, he feels less pressure on his insides – let’s hope the doctors have that same prognosis. For now, he’s enjoying the freedom of not having his chemo pack attached to his hip, and is nursing his ’sunburnt’ bottom.
I was tickled pink to find a message from Karen in my Ravelry inbox today. She wanted to let me know that she’d charted the lace pattern on her fabulous Baby Chalice Blanket pattern (ravelry link). How excited am I? Can’t wait to cast on that project again. Might even make it an adult sized blanket and keep it for myself, since I love the pattern so much – hah.
I’m not much of a drinker. In fact up until a few weeks ago, one could say I was a definite non-drinker. I thoroughly enjoyed alcohol in my late teens, pretty much up until I turned the legal drinking age in my province. After that alcohol was gross and I hated the way people acted when they got drunk. I’m still not a fan of drunken lunatics, especially large crowds of drunken lunatics, but I’m trying to get a taste back for alcohol – to enjoy and appreciate social drinking. So for the past 4 or 5 weeks, mister random and I have been testing out wines. You may have noticed me twittering about it:
wine+cheese+baguette+@voulesrandom=happyfriday.
He’s into the reds. Me, being a noob, am trying out whites. We started out with a pinot grigio from Italy which I downed. It tasted not-so-fantastic to me, but I drank it anyways! The next week I moved up to a sauv blanc from New Zealand. Uber yuck! That was a messy night… The next couple of bottles were pretty forgettable, but last Friday I discovered a gem from France in the way of Cynsault Syrah. Yummers! With hints of strawberry & blueberry, it was right up my alley. And I picked it out myself (*pats self on back*). I so look forward to Fridays now. Not sure I’m ready to drink in public again just yet, but in the comfort of my own home, with my fiance…anything goes.
On the needles I’m currently working on finishing up a pair of fingerless mittens. I wanted to knit something that would go with my Purple Thermis! I found this pattern which also uses a waffle stitch – I think they will go together nicely.
And for him, I’m pretty sure I’ll knit up a pair of these babies, double stranded with the same yarn used for his random request (Ravelry link). I’m so in love with all things green right now…
Two more projects have hit the frogpond recently: my Seascape Stole and Lace Ribbon Scarf both got the boot. Been doing some ’spring cleaning’ in my knitting corner and realized that I will likely never finish these guys. So rip-it, rip-it, rip-it I go and both patterns are going back into the Rav queue. I definitely want to knit both patterns again, the Lace Ribbon Scarf will be with a softer yarn – maybe I’ll indulge in some Manos… Oh the possibilities.
Tomorrow is Wednesday which means it’s Stitch ‘n Bitch night! Last week I played hooky and stayed home nursing a headache. I don’t plan on missing out on the fun tomorrow. Sounds like we might have a pretty decent crowd of crafters coming out – some newer faces, some older faces – a great mix. Now if only the weather will hold out and permit us some patio time… I’m crossing my fingers!
One more thing before I sign off for the night. If there are any musical fanatics out there, and you’re going to be in town next Monday or Tuesday, then I’ve got a great offer for you! The theatre I work for is producing a new Andrew Lloyd Webber/Ben Elton musical called The Boys in the Photograph. Over the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of watching the enormous set being built, painted, and transferred onto our modest little stage; hearing the giant cast’s enthusiastic rehearsals; and just feeling the buzz of energy that’s been floating around our theatre. This production is going to be HUGE! We’ve got some great seats still available for two of our previews next week and I’d love to extend a ‘friends and family’ offer to all of my cyber-friends. We’re selling all available tickets for our April 27th and April 28th previews for only $45 each – that’s up to $30 off per ticket!! Simply login to our website using Promo Code 1111 to take advantage of this super deal. And even if you can’t make it to one of the previews, I still recommend trying to catch one of the regular performance – it’ll cost you more than $45, but in my opinion seeing a new AWL musical is well worth every penny.
spring ahead. (spring? what spring!?)
Lost an hour today. Thank you Daylight Savings Time. Grr, I want my hour back! That hour could have been filled with some seriously productive knitting you know. Now it’s lost forever. Well at least until the fall…
What’s been happening this week? Lots and not much, depending on how you look at it. Dad started his cancer treatments this past Tuesday. This is both scary & exciting. Mostly feeling hopeful though. He goes for radiation therapy 5 days/week and has chemo once per week. The chemo is being administered 24/7 via a fluid pack, so the weekly appointments are to “filler up”, so to speak. He continues to have an amazing attitude about all this and it’s also quite cute as he seems to worry more about his loved ones (especially you, Mom) than himself. These intense treatments will continue for approximately the next 5 weeks or so. The next step will be to analyze the tumour (shrink you filthy bastard!) and plan for surgery. It’s a long process.
Not much has been done knitting-wise. The week started out great with me finishing my Sockdown: January! challenge (knit any pattern that uses the technique of beaded knitting OR any pattern from an online knitting magazine such as Knitty, The Anticraft or Knotions OR the Mystery Sock designed by SKA mod, Emm1e). I chose to knit Pomatomus from the Winter 2005 Knitty:
Used Noro Silk Garden Sock. I like them, but they’re not my favourite socks. Still they do the job of keeping my tootsies warm while the weather’s still on the chilly side here in Winterpeg.
Feeling good after qualifying for January’s prize draw (even though the random number generator did not choose me – boo hoo), I immediately cast on for my second attmept at the February Sockdown challenge (knit a sock for a cause or knit a sock utilizing the entrelac technique or a sock designed by Gigi Silva or our SURPRISE designer– Chrissy Gardiner) – my Fawkes Socks. Somehow I managed to out-do myself and knit half a sock in one day!
…And this is where the action ended. Since last Sunday I haven’t even looked at this project. Wanna know why?
Malabrigo March 2009 happened. And who in their right mind can resist knitting with that goodness? Not me, that’s for sure. Made a couple of iPod Socks to start off:
One for me and one for him! So soft…
Next up for my Malabrigo March contributions was a Meret (beret). Let’s take a look at what it looks like so far:
Yeah… Not looking like a whole lot right now, is it?
That’s sorta when this week of knitting fizzled out. It got even better (note sarcasm) when I picked up my Baby Chalice Blanket and proceeded to make numerous errors. After trying to rip back a little bit to fix them, I ended up frogging the whole darn thing. Thankfully I was only one repeat in, but having to start over again still puts more of a time crunch on things. As it stands now I’m just about caught up to where I was when I frogged. Problem is, now this blanket feels like a chore! On the plus side, my desire to see the finished product will keep me going. And another plus? I contacted the designer to see if she’d charted the pattern. She hadn’t but mentioned that she would take a look at how to chart it and get back to me! So exciting. Not sure about you, but I find knitting lace from a chart slightly easier than reading from a written pattern. Either way, it’s a beautiful pattern and like I said, I cannot wait to see the end result.
So on the knit-agenda today? Pump out a few more rows on the blanket & cast on for the Meret. The beret will probably win my affections and that’s okay, so long as progress is made on something, lol.
ZOMG! I almost forgot to mention two things that are currently making me uber-happy… 1) America’s Best Dance Crew – ABDC3 marathon on today! Season finale tonight: Quest Crew vs. Beat Freaks. I’m torn! They’re both freaking fantastic. 2) THE CHAIRS ARE ASSEMBLED AND HAVE SEAT CUSHIONS! Finally!! Except we had one dud, where the screws wouldn’t catch. Oh vell, three out of four ain’t bad. We’ll just be taking a trip back to the store for a replacement. No biggie. BUT I HAVE CHAIRS! Wheeee….
the ’sunday tea & toast’ post.
Move along. There’s nothing to see here.
Seriously. I have nothing to show you today. What I should be doing is knitting. Instead I’m here to tell you about the lack of knitting that’s been happening.
Deadlines:
Sockdown! January – my I Like Hip-Pomatomus’ socks are due by next Saturday. Will be starting the second sock today. Highly unlikely that I will meet this deadline.
Baby Chalice Blanket – due by March 16th. Haven’t even finished the first pattern repeat… Not feeling the pressure so much on this one though. It may be a few days late.
Sockdown! February (1) - the heart-shaped socks which I had intended on finishing for Feb 14th (what was I smoking when I gave myself that deadline!?) are now on the back burner. They will not be done before the Sockdown! finish date of March 31st. I will not even attempt this.
Sockdown! February (2) - have not been cast on yet. Making Fawkes socks; these must be cast on by Feb 28th and finished before Mar 31st. I will do this. I will. I’m probably crazy to, but I will.
And that’s it for time-sensitive knitting. There’s still my Seascape Stole and Lace Ribbon Scarf to work on too, but clearly I’m in no rush. They’ll get done…eventually 
Is it bad that I’m already planning out my entry for the March Sockdown challenge? Probably.
In other news…
-Yesterday my fiance and I hauled a few large bags of old clothes down to the VV boutique (that’s Value Village to those who don’t know). Cleared up a nice chunk of space in our bedroom. That felt good.
-Had to buy a new winter jacket, since the old one decided to commit zipper suicide the other day.
-Dad had a minor surgery last week in preparation of his upcoming battle. (He has cancer; I don’t think I’ve ever come right out and said that to you.) He is now armed and ready. To quote a dear friend: “It’ll be a rough road, but your dad’s driving a truck“. We will conquer! Wish him luck.
-I still have a beautiful new (and yet unused!) table in my dining room. Are the seat cushions on? Nope. Do we have access to a drill? Yep. Will it get done today? I sure as heck hope so. (Sorry we’re taking so long ND!!!)
-Thinking ’bout Rusty. We still have a lot of his stuff sitting out in our bedroom. Went to move some of it around (now that the large bags of unused clothes are gone!) and I thought ‘why is this litter pan so heavy?’. Yeah, that’s because there’s still litter in it (clean litter! I was a good momma and cleaned it after every use). It’s been just over one year since we lost our furbaby. So today, after my sunday chores, it’s time to deal with that task.
non-knitting.
Sunday tea and toast was ruined today when I discovered we were out of honey. I love toast & honey! And I used up the last bag of tea too, *sob*. I fear this is a sign of the week to come. Also, much to my dismay, the boots I had hoped would last me through the rest of winter have a crack in the heel.
(This secretly makes me happy though as I’ve been craving a new pair of shoes for a few months now & this gives me a valid reason to spend the money.)
Plan on hitting up the shoe store when it opens today at noon; spent a little time last night on the interweb searching for prospects. Found 4 pairs that struck my fancy – just hope they’re available in-store too…
Knitting was pretty much non-existent this week. Seem to have hit a wall where everything I’m working on feels like just that – ‘work’.
I think I need a holiday. Sleep would be helpful too.
slowly…
Into the 3rd repeat of chart B for my Seascape Stole. That’s oh so very close to being halfway done! The pattern is fairly easy, however I’ve found it to be such a slow going project. Numerous mistakes have been made along the way, but I’m not looking back. I’ll just keep on keepin’ on.
But I still have the urge to cast on something new… Socks, a cowl, mittens, anything. Ack! What’s a girl to do? I think I simply need to finish something. Time to whip out the Kid Silk Scarf — big needles, easy 10 row pattern repeat — might be just what it takes to cure this bout of knitter’s block.
(PS: Docs confirmed Dad’s illness yesterday. Now we wait for one more test/scan, then hopefully on to remedying the problem. ”The waiting is the hardest part” – Tom Petty)
ummm…
Is that a ring on my finger… you know, THE ring?
